TWO WOMEN WALKING NEAR SDSU CAMPUS GRABBED IN SEPARATE INCIDENTS

Two women walking near San Diego State University fought off strangers who grabbed them in separate incidents, campus police said Wednesday.

On April 15, a 20-year-old victim was walking on Campanile Drive near Baja Drive about 9 p.m. when a man drove near her in a gray pickup. He got out and grabbed her arm, but the woman wrenched loose and ran, police said.

He was described as white, in his mid-30s, 6 feet tall, of average build, and unshaven. He wore square glasses and a red and black Windbreaker. The truck may have been a four-door Toyota Tacoma.

On Sunday, another 20-year-old woman was walking in an alley off Montezuma Road near Campanile, just south of the campus, about 3 a.m. A man grabbed her arm and leg, police said. She, too, broke free and ran away.

He was described as Asian, in his mid-20s, tall, with spiked hair and black-framed glasses. He wore a white shirt and light-colored jeans.

Pauline Repard • U-T

UCSD issues warning about man suspected in 2 groping incidents

San Diego

Police at UC San Diego issued a warning Wednesday about a man who groped two women in separate attacks in a parking lot and dorm stairwell last week.

On April 17, a woman was walking through a parking lot about 7:45 p.m. when the man asked for directions. He then grabbed her in a hug and groped her thighs.

The same man is believed to have assaulted another woman on April 19 in a stairwell of Brown Residential Hall at Warren College. It was about 4:30 p.m. when he followed the victim up the stairs and groped her beneath her skirt.

He is described as Asian, in his 20s, about 5 feet 7 inches tall, of medium build, with short, black hair and a mustache. He wore a ball cap backward and khaki pants.

Pauline Repard • U-T

Probable pot-growing equipment confiscated from El Cajon garage

el cajon

Law enforcement agents carted away equipment believed used for growing marijuana in the garage of an El Cajon home Wednesday morning.

The action was run by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which went to the hillside home on Hardin Drive, south of Chase Avenue, with a search warrant, agency spokeswoman Lauren Mack said.

Agents dismantled a marijuana-growing operation and took one man into custody, but then released him, Mack said.

The equipment was loaded onto trucks.

Pauline Repard • U-T

Public’s help sought to find thief who took 7,500 feet of copper wire

4s RANCH

Investigators on Wednesday asked for the public’s help to find the thief who swiped about 7,500 feet of copper wire from 4S Ranch Community Park earlier this month.

The theft happened sometime between the evening of April 13 and the following morning, authorities said.

The wire, stolen from junction boxes, was used for field and sidewalk lights at the park, on 4S Ranch Parkway near Stone Ranch Elementary School.

Tipsters with information about the theft can call the Sheriff’s 4S Ranch station at (858) 521-5200, or the Crime Stoppers anonymous tip line at (888) 580-8477.